Through the Darkness
by ShadowJ51
Summary: Part 3 of a series. Sequel to 'Nightfall'. Friends are gone. The light is hidden. Hope is lost. How can the digidestined cheat fate this time?
1. Aftershock

Aftershock

Shadow- "Welcome to the start of part three! To new readers, welcome! And to old readers, welcome back! If you haven't read part one and part two of my story (The Coming Sunset and Nightfall), please go to my profile page, and read those first. Or else this part won't make any sense to you what-so-ever.

To those who have read those parts: Thank you for reading this far! The story contiues right where it left off, so you'll feel right at home. Enjoy this chapter!"

Renamon- "Shadow does not own digimon. He does, unfortunately, own my soul..."

Shadow- "I keep it in a jar. It's really psychedelic... I could stare at it all day... oh, and don't forget to R&R!"

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**dark ocean**

Takato... no... thought Rika as Takato was stabbed through the chest by Blackknightmon and deleted.

"YOU BASTARD!" she screamed, and launched herself at Blackknightmon, followed closely by everyone else. Their attacks shook the land and caused the nearby lighthouse to crack through the foundations and break against the ground. Blackknightmon never stood a chance against the fury of the digidestined's revenge for their murdered friend.

**dark ocean**

The digidestined stood around the burning wreckage of the village that Blackknightmon had destroyed, unable to cope with what had just happened. Though at first they were hopeful, that changed when they spoke to Efremon.

"Efremon!" shouted Rika. "We'll be able to bring back Takato, right?"

Efremon sighed. "...I don't know..."

"What! How can you not know! Can't we bring him back like we'll bring back Izzy and Trish?"

Efremon shook his head. "I doubt it. Because we're not in the digital world, I don't think that he'll come back as a digi-egg. Even if he does, It could take months, or maybe even years."

"Why wouldn't he come back immediately like you, Izzy, and Trish did?" asked Justin.

"Because," said Efremon, "We were created because the digital world needed all the available data it had to reform itself. If they worlds hadn't collided, we might not have come back for a long time."

Justin nodded. "That's true... and that explains why it took so long for Leomon to return to Jeri..."

Now, after the depressing conversation, the digidestined felt hopeless. Even they had destroyed all the dark lord's underlings, they had yet to destroy him, and three of their friends had already been killed. When they fought the dark lord, would more of them die? Would they be able to restore anyone to their original forms?

The digidestined did not know the answers to these questions, and prepared to go to sleep on the wreaked landscape, wondering what would happen to them.

**dark ocean**

"Kouji!" Koichi whispered. "Kouji! You awake, brother?"

Kouji groaned. "No, Koichi. I'm asleep. Now shut up so I can stay that way!"

Koichi sighed. "I wanted to ask whether you thought I have a chance with Zoe."

Kouji sat bolt upright. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

Koichi chuckled. "I knew that'd get you up."

Kouji blushed. "Oh, shut up..." he muttered.

"Stay away from who?" Zoe asked groggily.

"Zoe!" said Kouji in suprise. "I... um... that is... well..."

Koichi laughed. "You're the same as ever, brother..."

"What'd you want, anyway?" Kouji asked.

"I wanted to ask you what we should do next."

Zoe yawned. "S' what now?" she said.

"About what?" Kouji asked.

Koichi sighed. "About Izzy and Trish! How should we start looking for a way to save them?"

Kouji yawned. "I dunno, but I bet you won't know if you're tired. Now go to sleep!"

**dark ocean**

Elsewhere in the camp, Justin, Rika, and Jeri were discussing what should be done next as well.

"I think we should go now!" said Rika. "The faster we find a way to save Izzy and Trish, the faster we can save Takato!"

Jeri nodded. "I agree, but what about that evil guy? He's still out there, and the others will need our help."

"That's why we should go now!" said Rika. "The faster we find a way to save them, the faster we can get back with more help for the others!"

"Okay..." said Justin. "One problem with that: How the heck are we going to save them?"

_I might have an answer to that._ a voice that seemed to echo from everywhere said.

**dark ocean**

"What... the hell... was that?" Kouji said.

Zoe gulped. "Do you think that was the dark lord?"

The voice chuckled, causing the nearby ocean to transform from peaceful and placid to rough and choppy in a matter of moments. The voice that followed seemed amused "The dark one? Whose voice have you been listening to?"

"Well, if you're not the dark lord, then who are you?"

The voice seemed to smile. (A/N: I don't know how that's possible, so don't ask.) "I am the golden dragon. I am the creator of the gods. I am the only chance of salvation for your friends."

A warm golden light surrounded Kouji, Koichi, Zoe, Justin, Rika, and Jeri, as well as Elecmon, Motimon, and Efremon, and they vanished into thin air.


	2. Trial by Light: Kouji’s Hope

Trial by Light: Kouji's Hope

Shadow- "Over twenty readers... and no reviews. Story of my life..."

Renamon- "You should be used to it by now."

Shadow- "Yeah, you'd think so... anyways, quick warning about the next few chapters: They are strange. Because of this, I'm going to post one per day, to get past them as quick as possible. Though they seem strange now, they will make sense when we get through them. So, if you read this chapter, and think: "What the heck is going on!", don't worry. It's a temporary necessity. And the chapters after it are AWSOME! So don't miss out."

Renamon- "..."

Shadow- "What?"

Renamon- "You usually don't advertise for future chapters..."

Shadow- "Well, I'm confident about them."

Renamon- "Okay... Shadow does not own digimon. For good reasons."

Shadow- "Don't forget to R&R! ...please? And enjoy the chapter!"

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**unknown world**

As Kouji was deposited on the ground by the strange lights, only one thought went through his mind: _What... the fuck... just happened!_

He looked around, and saw he was in a forest similar to the one where he had saved Tommy from Taprimon's illusions. He smiled. _For just a kid, he was pretty tough..._ He sighed. _Of course, just because it reminds me of that doesn't solve my problem: What just happened?_

He sighed again. _Might as well just start walking... it's worked before..._

"Come on, Lighmo- wait a second... where'd he go?" Kouji looked around. No digimon partner. He looked at his digivice, and saw his familiar spirits of light staring back at him. _Great... another mystery..._

**unknown world**

Kouji groaned._ I've been walking for hours in this damn forest! Where are those guys! I know they're here! I saw them disappear like I did!_

"Hey guys!" Kouji called out, "Where are you!"

He listened, but the only answer he got was his own echo, sounding forlorn and hopeless. He shrugged. _Who needs 'em anyway... I'll just find my own way out of this..._

He continued to walk through the forest, and though the sun had started to go down, and though the forest was getting thicker, he continued to trudge onward. A branch hit him in the face. He irritably pushed it away. The branch swung back and whacked him in the face harder than before. He growled. "Why does this always happen to me!" he shouted to no one in particular. With an increasingly bad temper, he continued to forge a path through the tangled growth.

Much later, a slightly more bruised and cut Kouji decided that enough was enough. _That's it! I've had it with these branches! I've had it with these trees! And I've had it with these GOD DAMN THORNS! I don't care if I have to destroy this entire forest! Five more minutes here, and I'll go crazy!_

Four minutes and fifty nine seconds later, he tumbled through the tree-line and into a clearing. The sky had turned a blackish-purple as night approached, the trees were more like thorn bushes now, and in the center of the clearing was... _Zoe!_

"Zoe!" Kouji shouted. "Where have you been? I called for you, but-" the rest of the words caught in his throat as Zoe turned around. Her eyes were pupil-less, and she spoke in a whisper.

"Kouji... how nice to see you... I wanted to make sure I killed you in person!"

SPIRIT EVOLUTION

"Kazemon!"

"Hurricane Wave!" the attack slammed into Kouji, knocking him back into the bushes. Zoe laughed.

"I knew this would be the right body to kill you with, fool!"

Kouji struggled to his feet. "Wait a second... You're not Zoe..."

Zoe laughed. "You're only half right. This is Zoe's body, but... she's... away for the moment..."

"What have you done with her?" Kouji growled.

Zoe, or rather whoever was controlling her, laughed. "I haven't done anything to her... I've just taken control of her for a while, so I can kill you!"

Kouji growled. "Not if I have anything to say about that!"

SPIRIT EVOLUTION

"Lobomon!"

"Lobo Kendo!" Lobomon's attack smashed Kazemon, crushing her against the ground. Zoe cried out, and de-digivolved back into her human form.

"Where are you hiding at!" Kouji yelled. "Tell me!"

Zoe chuckled. "Right in front of you. I'm living in this girl's body." Zoe leered at Kouji. "If you want to destroy me, you'll have to destroy your friend as well!"

Kouji held his sword to Zoe's neck, but after holding it there for a moment, his arm dropped. "No... I... couldn't hurt Zoe..."

Zoe's eyes widened. "You would risk the world to save the life of your pathetic friend?"

Kouji paused, then nodded.

Immediately, the golden light surrounded him again, and transported him off again to another world.


	3. Trial of Heart: Jeri’s Fear

Trial of Heart: Jeri's Fear

Shadow- "Hello again! I kept my promise! Here's the next chapter, as promised! Oh, and Nameless Dragon? You might want to lay off the caffine... or at least not write in all caps next time. Still, though, can't complain, you reviewed... which is more than I can say for some of you!"

Renamon- "Just get to the chapter! That's why they're reading this..."

Shadow- "Fine..."

Renamon- "Shadow does not own digimon. That saddens him. If you have the rights, and are willing to sell, look no further, because-"

Shadow- "Yeah, thanks Renamon, they get it. Please R&R. It makes me happy. If you don't, it makes me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry..."

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**unknown world**

Jeri groaned, and slowly got up from where she had been tossed by the odd lights. _Umm... Where am I?_ She wondered.

She looked around, and at first only saw red. She shook her head, and her vision began to clear. She saw that what she had first thought were solid red walls were actually red walls of thick tendrils. A center column, which she leaned against, was made of the same material. For a moment, she wondered where she was. Then, it suddenly hit her. _But... that's impossible... the D-reaper was destroyed..._

"INCORRECT, SUBJECT Jeri Katou." came an all-too familiar voice from the walls. "THE DESTROYER CAN NOT BE DESTROYED. IT CAN ONLY BE DELAYED. HUMANKIND'S DESTRUCTION IS NOW." It said in it's monotonous tone.

Jeri shook her head. "You're wrong! We did destroy you! Twice!"

"INCORRECT. WE WERE ONLY DEVOLVED. WE GREW STRONGER. WE HAVE RETURNED. HUMANKIND'S DESTRUCTION IS NOW."

"No!" Jeri cried. "You can't! Leomon! Stop th..." she suddenly realized that Leomon was not there. "Leo...mon...?"

"SUBJECT Leomon HAS BEEN DELETED. SUBJECT RESISTED."

"Wh... what...?" Jeri shuddered, then cried out "No! Leomon!" She broke down crying.

She remembered how kind Leomon had been. She remember the good times they'd had. She remembered how Leomon had told her that she had a lion's heart the first time he had died. She remembered...she remembered... she remembered...

_unknown world_

Jeri cried for a long time for her lost partner. Her reminisces were cut short when she heard a battle raging outside where she was held. She stood up, and shouted "Help! I'm in here!"

Suddenly, a series of blasts cut through the wall and a small hole opened up. Beelzemon pushed through the burnt tentacles.

"Hurry, Jeri!" he called. "Grab my hand!"

Jeri started to reach, but suddenly remembered what he had done to Leomon. She remembered his scream of pain, his dying words, and Takato's attempt to avenge him. She took her hand back.

"No..." she whispered.

"Jeri!" Beelzemon said with mounting panic as the hole began to close. "Hurry! We need to get you out of there! We can't win without you!"

Jeri shook her head. "No! You killed Leomon! You deserve to die!"

Beelzemon was taken aback. "Jeri... that was... a mistake... I... I'm sorry..."

Jeri looked up at Beelzemon. Beelzemon continued. "I'm sorry for the pain I caused... but at least give me a chance to help!"

Jeri looked around at her prison, then at the diminishing hole. As the hole closed, she made up her mind. "Wait!" She called out. "I'll let you repent! I'll leave with you! Just, please, try again!"

"SUBJECT Beelzemon DESTROYED SUBJECT Leomon." said the D-reaper. "WHY DO YOU GIVE HIM ANOTHER CHANCE? HE WILL ONLY MAKE YOU SUFFER MORE."

"No..." said Jeri. "He has tried to repent... he really wants to be forgiven... I have to give him... another... chance..."

She was instantly surrounded by the odd lights and was carried off into another world.


	4. Trial by Darkness: Koichi’s Heart

Trial by Darkness: Koichi's Heart

Shadow- "Yay! Another reviewer! I feel happy!"

Renamon- "Good for you."

Shadow- "... I think I need a better muse... and Guilmon still isn't back..."

Renamon- "Like that matters... anyways, Shadow does not own digimon. He just owns the sould of the reviewers..."

Shadow- "Ha ha! She's kidding. Seriously, though, R&R."

Renamon- "No, really, I reviewed once, and now he o-"

Shadow- "Renamon!"

Renamon- "Sorry..."

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**unknown world**

Koichi was falling. Falling through the darkness. Falling through his fears. Falling (and landing) hard on the ground. _Ow..._ he thought. _Okay... new rule... don't trust voices that seem to come from nowhere..._

He slowly sat up, and looked around. Though he was sitting in a small pool of light, there was only darkness as far as he could see. The ground seemed to be made of metal and, apart from some cracks he had caused when he landed, was absolutely featureless.

He started to walk, and the light followed him exactly. The only signs he was moving at all was the fact that the cracks had moved out of the circle of light. He stopped, turned around, and tried to find them again, but couldn't. After several minutes of searching, he took out his digivice, decided to pick a direction, and followed it. After walking for a bit, he found the cracks again. He sighed, knowing he was getting nowhere. He continued walking and, after a short while, came upon more cracks. At first, he thought he'd found where on of the others had landed, but closer inspection showed that the cracks were identical to the ones he had just left. He checked his digivice, but it said he hadn't walked in a circle.

He sat down, and sighed. "There's no way out of here..." he mumbled.

**unknown world**

Koichi decided to watch the clock on his digivice. He watched the seconds tick by, then the minutes, then the hours. His digivice beeped along with the seconds.

Beep... beep... beep... beep... beep... beep...beep...beep...

"God damn it!" he suddenly shouted, and threw the digivice into the darkness. "Where the hell am I!" His digivice smacked him in the back of the head. "...and what the hell is going on!"

**unknown world**

Fortunately, Koichi had muted his digivice. Unfortunately, the only other mode was vibrate. Now, the digivice buzzed along with the seconds.

Bzz... bzz... bzz... bzz...

He groaned. _This has got to be the most boring place I've even been in..._ he sighed. _I never thought I'd actually miss my partner digimon..._

The digivice continued to slice minute portions of time away with it's never-ending buzzing.

Bzz... bzz... bzz... bzz...

Suddenly, Koichi heard footsteps approaching. He turned and called out "Hey! I'm over here!"

The footsteps stopped, then changed direction so that they were slowly approaching him.

Koichi waited, and soon he saw Kouji enter the circle of light. "Brother!" Koichi called out. "Thank god! I've been waiting here forever!"

Kouji sneered. "Have you now... did you ever think of looking for us, you idiot?"

"I did!" Koichi protested. "But I just kept going around in circles!"

"Didn't you realize your digivice has a compass!" Kouji yelled.

"But brother..."

"No buts!" Kouji shouted. "You always were the idiot in the family!" he took out his digivice. "And if I kill you, our parents will get together again and we'll be a family again!"

SPIRIT EVOLUTION

"Lobomon!"

"Lobo Kendo!" Koichi scrambled the his left, narrowly dodging the attack. "Just what do you think you're doing!" Koichi yelled.

Kouji sneered as he backed out of the light circle. "Didn't I already tell you? You really are an idiot. You'll be easy to kill."

Koichi took out his digivice. "Not if I have anything to say about it!"

SPIRIT EVOLUTION

"Lowemon!"

"Shadow Meteor!" he fired where Kouji had been standing, but the attack just passed through the darkness. Kouji's laughter echoed oddly as Koichi tried to figure out where he was.

"Come on, 'brother!'" he said. "Can't you find me? Am I to your right? Am I to your left? Or am I... behind you!"

Koichi whirled around, and was struck in the back. Kouji laughed as Koichi tried to rise. "Nope! Sorry, I was right in front of you the whole time!"

Koichi struggled to his feet. "Shadow Lance!" The attack hit Kouji dead in the chest, knocking him down and causing him to dedigivolve.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Kouji. "I lost. Kill me."

Koichi shook his head. "No! You are my brother, and I will not harm you!"

Kouji tilted his head. "Even if I come back to kill you?"

Koichi nodded.

The floor opened up beneath Koichi, and he plunged into a group of small golden lights.


	5. Trial by Wind: Zoe’s Fury

Trial by Wind: Zoe's Fury

Shadow- "Hello again, faithful readers! And less-faithful readers! And people who started reading this story today! Guess what?"

Renamon- "An armored car wrecked on the freeway and you got twenty thousand dollars in cash?"

Shadow- "Umm... no. Even better!"

Renamon- "Twenty thousand dollars and a penny?"

Shadow- "No."

Renamon- "Twe-"

Shadow- "No! A new chapter!"

Renamon- "Oh."

Shadow- "...well, don't get too excited..."

Renamon- "Okay... Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "And please remember to R&R."

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**unknown world**

Zoe blushed as she slowly got to her feet. _Why is it that I'm the only girl with a skirt in this group and I always get dropped from high places?_ she wondered. _Oh well..._ she sighed._ At least J.P. and Luke aren't here..._ she frowned at that thought. _Those freaks...why can't they bother someone else?_ she looked around. _Come to think of it... where is everybody?_

"Windmon, have you se- Windmon?" she looked around. There was nobody else. "Windmon? Where are you!" she started to panic, and looked at her digivice to find out where Windmon had gone. She saw, to her surprise, that she had her spirits of wind back. _That's just great..._ she thought. _The first time I start worrying about my skirt, and nobody's even here!_ she sighed. _What does it take to get a guy... um, the right guy... to notice you!_ she sighed. _Why does Kouji always ignore me..._

She sat down on the grass and sighed. _Why do I care? I don't know if he likes me!_

_Yes,_ said the annoying voice in the back of her mind, _But you think he does._

_That doesn't mean anything!_

_Remember when he gave you his coat?_

_Umm..._

_Remember how happy he was when you said you'd go on a date with him?_

_Well..._

_Which, by the way, you haven't followed through with._

_What if he likes someone else?_

_At least ask him! If he does, then go out with him! If he doesn't, then at least you won't have to beat yourself up over this!_

Zoe nodded. _Wow, thanks! ...wait a second... why'd you say "you"? Aren't you me?_

_Umm..._

_Who are you?_

_...I'm you._

_So now I'm schizophrenic?_

_...look, if it'll help you sleep at night, I'm your conscience._

_...who gives me love advice?_

_You've been obsessed with him so long, it's affected me! Just get it over with!_

"Hey Zoe!" she suddenly heard, "What're you thinking about?"

She looked up, and saw Kouji standing in front of her. "Umm..." she said.

Kouji grinned. "C'mon, let's get out of this place!"

Zoe looked around her at her surroundings for the first time, and saw that they were in the middle of a jungle. (A/N: Not forest, jungle. There is a difference.) She nodded. "Okay. But where'r we going?"

Kouji shrugged. "Heck if I know. Pick somewhere."

**unknown world**

As Zoe and Kouji walked along, Zoe argued with herself whether she should tell him how she felt. After walking for a few minutes, she finally decided.

"Hey Kouji..." she said. Kouji stopped walking and looked back at her. "What?" he asked. She hesitated. "Well... I just..."

Suddenly, (A/N: Why the heck is there no good word in my computer's thesaurus for "Suddenly"?) A medium-sized dragon crashed through the bushes and, before they could react, ate Kouji whole.

Zoe gasped._ Kouji... no..._

The dragon roared at her, and started to advance. "I'll teach you to mess with my friend!" Zoe yelled.

SPIRIT EVOLUTION

"Kazemon!"

"Hurricane wa-" _No! Wait!_ shouted the voice in her head.

Zoe stopped her attack. _What!_

_You could hurt him if you attack!_

Zoe sighed, but realized that that was true. _Well, what do I do?_ she asked.

_Well... you could always fly in after him?_

_WHAT!_

_It would be dangerous, but..._

_...but I'd save him?_

_Well..._

_Count me in!_

Zoe flew into the dragon's mouth, and was immediately surrounded by golden flecks, and disappeared.


	6. Trial of Shadow: Justin’s Anger

Trial of Shadow: Justin's Anger

Shadow- "Hello, once again. So, how many of you have guesed what's going on?"

Renamon- "Probably very few..."

Shadow- (shrugs) "Whatever..."

Renamon- "Shadow does not own digimon. Fortunately."

Shadow- "And please don't forget to R&R!"

* * *

**unknown world**

Sunlight began to filter slowly through the forest canopy as the sun rose. Birds began chirping and singing to announce the new day. Creatures of all kinds awoke to a new day. Justin groaned, and slowly got up. _Why does this always happen?_ he wondered as he got to his feet and looked around to get his bearings.

"Well, this is just great." he muttered. "No digimon, no friends, no... anything. Just trees..." he sighed. _Could this day get any worse?_ He shrugged, and began to walk. _No sense staying around here. Might as well look for the others... I hope Rika's all right..._

He wandered through the forest, occasionally checking his digivice for signs of anyone else. His digivice remained stubbornly silent. After several minutes of searching, he sighed. _Where the heck am I? And why does it seem familiar? _He shook his head in frustration. _This is getting me nowhere! Maybe I should try and rig up a portal out of here with my cell phone..._ As he started to take his phone out, his digivice began beeping incessantly. _Okay, okay!_ he thought as he took out his digivice. The digivice indicated that there was someone nearby. Justin frowned. _Why didn't it pick them up earlier? Oh well, might as well see who it is..._

**unknown world**

Justin stumbled through the brush into a clearing. He saw that Rika was lying on the ground, unconscious. As Justin hurried over, Kazu stepped out from behind a nearby bush. Justin stopped.

"Kazu, good, listen, what happened to her?"

Kazu grinned. "Why should you care?"

Justin blinked. "W-what?"

"I said, why should you care?"

"She might be hurt!" Justin said. "She might need our help!"

Kazu grinned again. "What, you actually want to help that bitch?"

"What!"

"She deserved it." Kazu said. "She was yelling at me, so I hit her."

"What!"

Kazu leered at him. "What, do you like her, or something?"

Justin blushed lightly, and his eyes narrowed.

Kazu laughed. "I knew it! Justin likes Rika! Justin likes the digimon queen!"

Justin was still blushing, but growled "Shut up."

"Okay," said Kazu. "Then I'll just beat her up some more!"

"Don't you dare!"

Kazu laughed again. "What are you gonna do about?"

Justin picked up a pole-sized branch from nearby, and spun it experimentally. Kazu's eyes widened.

"I suggest you get the hell away from her if you don't want to get hurt."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. It's a fact. Now back away slowly."

Kazu looked suprised. "You'd hurt me?"

"Get away from her."

Kazu sneered. "What if I promise to get revenge on you?"

"I don't care, she needs help, now get away from her, or I'll knock your god damn head off!"

The sunlight suddenly intensified, turning into a shower of gold. Just before he disappeared, Justin saw Kazu and Rika vanish into thin air.


	7. Trial of Ice: Rika’s Love

Trial of Ice: Rika's Love

Shadow- "Hello, again. A new reviewer! I'm happy!"

Renamon- "Let's hope they stay around..."

Shadow- "They will. They like the story, so they'll want to know what happens. And believe me, I don't blame them!"

Renamon- "...whatever..."

Shadow- "Okay, Renamon... Anyways, this is the last of these six 'odd' chapters. The next chapter will answer your questions... if you still have any..."

Renamon- "Sure... anyways, Shadow does not own digimon. He's too lazy to aquire the rights."

Shadow- "Hey, believe what you want... but please R&R. It helps."

* * *

**unknown world**

The moon started its long climb up the nighttime sky as Rika struggled to her feet. She shook her head to try to clear her thoughts. _What the hell just happened?_ she looked around _And where the hell is Renamon?_

"Renamon! Where are you!" her only answer was the echoes of her voice of the distant cliffs. She sighed. _Why couldn't Takato be here..._ she half closed her eyes, and tears began to form. _Damn it... I had so long... why couldn't I have told that stupid goggle-head..._

_Yes,_ she argued with herself, _You could have... but what if he said no? What if he didn't return the feelings? What if he no longer wanted to be my friend if I asked? What if he told the others, and they laughed at me?_

_Shut up!_ her other half said. _He liked you! You know that! Remember when he called you his "dream girl"? Besides, even if he didn't feel the same way, he wouldn't want to hurt you. He wouldn't make fun of you, or stop being your friend._

_Yes... _Rika thought _but... I'm not sure... that I could still be his friend... if he said no..._

Rika shook her head again. _Fine then. If we ever find a way of bringing him back, I'll tell him how I feel. She looked around. Now... let's find the others..._

**unknown world**

Rika walked through the rocky wasteland, checking her digivice from time to time, but it refused to show any signs of life. After walking for a while, she ended up on the edge of a cliff. She kicked a rock off the edge, and listened for an echo, but heard nothing. She sighed. _I wish Takato were here... at least he'd know what to do..._

As she finished the thought, she heard a familiar yell from high above her. She looked up in time to see Takato just before he crashed into her. They both lay on the ground for a while, dazed from the impact. Rika and Takato slowly got to their feet. _What the heck?_ Rika wondered.

_Now's your chance!_ her other half shouted. _Tell him how you feel!_

_But... what if..._

_No buts! Tell him! Now!_

"H-hey Rika." Takato said.

"Hey goggle-head." Rika said, "Why the hell did you just fall on my head?"

Takato looked into Rika's glaring eyes, and shivered. "Umm..."

_Great!_ Rika's other self thought _Now he thinks I hate him!_

"Look," said Takato, "I'm sorry..."

Rika glared at him. " 'the hell are you doing here, anyways?"

Takato sighed. "Same thing you are, probably..." Takato looked at her glare again, and gulped. "L-look, if you don't want me here, I'll just go..."

_Tell him!_ one part of her screamed. _No!_ screamed another. In the confusion in her head continued, she nothing as Takato took a step backward, accidentally lost his balance, and toppled over the cliff.

Rika blinked as she saw Takato disappear over the edge, then scrambled to where he had fallen from. She looked down, but the tamer had already been lost to sight.

_Now you've done it_. her other self said. _You've killed him._

"But..." she whispered, "I..."

Rika gulped as tears began to form in her eyes as she remembered her goggled friend. She remembered he was always nice, always trying to be her friend, and in the end, had melted a tiny part of her heart.

She cried out into the valley "Takato!" she sobbed, then whispered "I... love you..."

She was suddenly surrounded by golden lights, that whisked her away from the valley, from her feelings, and from her friend.


	8. Mainframe

Mainframe

Shadow- "Yay! More reviews! And a new chapter! Today is good!"

Renamon- "Weren't you just complaining that your day was horrible?"

Shadow- "...that was school... this is the internet!"

Renamon- "Fine... Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "And people, please, don't forget to R&R!"

* * *

**dark ocean**

As the pale sun rose into the sky, the digidestined slowly awoke and got up. They quickly discovered their missing friends. After several minutes of fruitless searching, the digidestined regrouped.

"Well," said Tai, "It looks like they've disappeared..."

Takuya nodded. "What do you think happened to them?"

"It looks like them just packed up and left. They probably went off to find out how to help Izzy, Trish and Botta. All three of them are gone as well." Ryo said.

Henry shook his head. "...I don't think so. There's no tracks leading away from here. Something must have just scooped them up and taken them away, by the looks of it."

TK shook his head. "What could do that without us noticing?"

**unknown world**

A shower of gold rained from the sky as the six digidestined and their digimon were deposited on the ground. They got to their feet slowly, and looked at each other. They looked around in confusion at what they saw. They were surrounded by walls of shining silver and gold. On the walls were odd patterns in red and blue and green that seemed to slowly fluctuate, and if you stared at them long enough, seemed to disappear. The ground was patterned after a gigantic circuit board, with transistors and silicone forming a hypnotizing pattern. Behind them was a colossal hallway, which seemed to have no end, and in front of them lay a giant golden dragon, its head nearly touching the ceiling, waiting patiently for them to take in their surroundings.

Kouji was the first one to speak up. "Okay... where are we?"

The golden dragon smiled. "You are in my home, where I was created."

"...and that is?" asked Zoe.

"The mainframe, the central processing unit, of the digital world."

"...Okay..." said Koichi. "So... what was that last place we were in?"

The dragon smiled again. "I'm afraid I was... testing you. You see, I have to be very careful who I let in here. There are those who would try to destroy this place. I'm happy to say you all passed, as I thought you would. Well done, digidestined!"

"You mean that place wasn't real?" Rika growled.

"No, it was not." the dragon replied. "Each of you experienced an individual reality. The illusion was manufactured by the mainframe itself, so even I do not know what you experienced."

"Is there any way someone could hack into the system to find out?" Justin asked.

The dragon laughed. "Who would I let in here who would do that? Besides, even I am not sure how the computer works. I may be the first digimon, but I do not know everything."

Justin nodded, looking relieved. "Good."

"So..." asked Zoe. "Why are you here?"

The dragon shrugged. "I guess I am here to watch over the digital world and to make sure there are no problems with the computer. But, seeing as I can not act on what I see, and there are never any problems with the computer, I am not sure. It is quite possible I exist for no purpose at all."

"That's real cheerful..." muttered Rika.

"In that case," said Justin, "I think it would be better to ask why are we here and how we got here?"

"I would assume that you are here to revive your comrades, since they have traveled with you."

The digidestined took a second look around, and saw that Elecmon, Motimon, and Efremon were also there.

"...As for how you got here, I again to not know. I wanted to help you, and the computer allowed me. Further than that, I do not know."

"There's a lot of stuff you don't know, isn't there?" Justin said.

The dragon snorted. "Not really. I know every aspect of the digital world. I know quite a bit of your world. And I know some math, as well. Would you like me to recite Pi for you? It's three-point-one-four-one-five-nine-two-six-five-three-five-eight-nine-seven..."

That's okay!" Kouji cut him off. "We get it! Now, let's just do what we're here to do already!"

The dragon shrugged. "Sure. Follow me."

The dragon turned around with agonizing slowness, and began to walk down a path behind it. As the digidestined followed, Rika sighed. _What the hell is with this thing? It's insane!_

**dark ocean**

"Well, what should we do?" asked Kari. "We can't just abandon them."

"We can't help them if we can't find them." Ryo said. "Besides, we still have to kill that dark lord."

Tai nodded. "Yeah. But how do we find him?"

"Simple enough." Henry said, turning towards the ocean. "Just follow the water."

Kari shivered. "D-do we have to?"

TK nodded slowly. "Looks like it..."

They walked to the dark ocean, paused by the slowly lapping waves, began walking into the ocean, and soon disappeared from sight.


	9. Dreams and Nightmares

Dreams and Nightmares

Shadow- "Hello again, faithful readers. I just noticed something about the editing system: if you have more than one sybol at the end of a sentance (eg a question mark followed by an exclamation point) it deletes the first symbol. Oh joy. The system screws up the format once again..."

Renamon- "And this is a surprise to you... how?"

Shadow- "I don't know... I thought the system was supposed to help you..."

Renamon- "Apparantly not. Regardless, you don't own digimon."

Shadow- "Yeah, I know... oh, and please R&R!"

* * *

**mainframe**

The dragon continued to plod along slowly, to the increasing aggravation of the digidestined. Finally, Rika could stand it no longer.

"Can you move any slower?" she shouted. "We've been walking for hours, and I can still see where we started at!"

"Patience, digidestined." the dragon replied. "A few hours is precious time to wait for your friends."

Jeri, who had fallen asleep and was being carried by Leomon, woke up as the dragon finished speaking. She yawned.

"Are we there yet?" she muttered sleepily. "I just had a really weird dream..."

"It's okay, Jeri." Leomon said. "You can go back to sleep if you want."

Jeri yawned, muttered something about puppets, and went back to sleep.

The dragon continued to walk in its infinitely slow manner, and everyone sighed. _This is going to be a long day..._

**dark ocean**

Kari still hadn't gotten used to the idea of walking, and breathing, underwater. She shivered, and a cloud of bubbles escaped from her mouth as she spoke.

"W-why can we breathe?" Kari asked.

"This place is digital, right?" Henry replied. "Everything is just data. We can breathe because we think we can."

"But how do we know this place is digital?" Kari asked.

"We're breathing, aren't we?" Henry replied.

Kari looked around, then sighed. "I guess..."

"That isn't important." Tai said. "We need to be looking for this 'dark lord' guy."

"Do we even know what he looks like?" asked Matt. "It's not like we're going to find some huge sign saying 'Dark lord this way; digidestined welcome', or something. We're just wandering around in circles right now."

"Well," said Tai, "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yeah, actually," replied Matt, "How about we camp here for lunch? It's been a few hours."

"Yes! Lunch!" shouted Kazu

"Dibs on the rice balls!" shouted Veemon.

"No fair!" said Patamon. "You got those last time!"

"Do we have any food left?" asked Yolee. "I'm all out."

The digimons' faces fell. "We're gonna starve..." whined Kazu.

"Hold on a sec!" said Takuya. "I think I still have some food."

Takuya was quickly tackled by the digimon, and Kazu, all trying to rip off Takuya's backpack. While Takuya cried out and tried to fend them off, Henry pulled out an energy bar, and started eating. He sighed.

_Jeri... Rika... where the heck did you two go?_

**mainframe**

Zoe sighed. _We just keep walking. Walking and staring at that dragon's ass. Walking and trying not to scream. Walking and..._ she sighed, resolving not to say anything. Then, realizing this would get her nowhere, asked "How long is it 'till we get there?"

The dragon did not even look back to respond. "A while. Be patient."

Zoe growled. "Look, dr... n..."

Kouji looked over at her. "'You okay?

"...I just realized something..." Zoe said. "We still don't know that dragon's name."

_About time you asked... _thought the dragon. "My name is Huanglongmon."

"That's kinda a stupid name." said Efremon.

"No worse than Azulongmon...or Efremon." replied the dragon.

As Efremon looked like he was about to attack Huanglongmon, Zoe asked "How long till we get there?"

The dragon stopped moving. "We're here."

The digidestined looked around the dragon. In front of them, the ceiling swept upwards, displaying an imitation of clouds. Below, in a vast crater in the floor, stood a giant forest, complete with enormous mountains, rushing rivers, and immeasurable oceans. In the center of it all stood a colossal spire, glinting in the sunlight radiating from the ceiling. The dragon smiled at their shocked reactions. "I think you can understand now why I spend most of my time here."

**mainframe, sacred crater**

After experiencing an exhilarating ride into the crater on top of Huanglongmon's back, the digidestined were dropped off in front of the spire, which, from where they were standing, seemed to extend upwards forever. Up close, they could see the spire was made of a shining silver metal, with flecks of gold and precious stones thrown in for variety.

"Before you ask," said the dragon, "Yes, that is really silver, gold, and precious stones."

Justin looked to his left and right. "So... where's the door?"

"There isn't one." the dragon replied. When everyone looked at him oddly, he quickly finished "...not yet, anyways. It won't open until you've collected enough energy to safely revive your friends."

"Is that why you took six of us here?" asked Rika.

The dragon nodded. "Yes. In order to remove them from their current bodies, and create new bodies for your friends, your wishes are needed. Since the process is draining, it can only be safely done with two people reviving one person."

"And... what about Takato?" Rika asked.

The dragon sighed. "I knew this would come up eventually. I... do not know where your friend's data is now. If we knew, and could find him before he receives a new body, we could revive him without effort. Sadly, though I have scanned the human, digital, and dark worlds for him, he was nowhere to be found."

Rika's face fell. She frowned. Something didn't seem right. _If he wasn't in any of those places... then where could he be?_ Before Rika could ask anything, Kouji asked "How, exactly, do we 'collect enough energy'?"

"Simple." the dragon said. "A period rest recharges human's ability to wish by dreaming..."

Justin sighed. "In other words, we need to sleep."

The dragon nodded. "Exactly."

**dark ocean**

"Can we please stop walking?" Kazu whined.

"Fine!" yelled Tai. "But if we don't find the dark lord, it's your fault!"

Kazu wasn't listening. He had already fallen to the ground, and was asleep.

Henry sighed. "We might as well stop here."

As everyone set their things down and began pulling out sleeping bags, Kari shivered.

TK looked over at her. "Is something wrong?"

Kari shivered again. "The... darkness... it's..."

A nearby explosion interrupted her. Fire shot out of the ground. The earth cracked in half. The air (A/N: Okay, water, but still...) began to whirl into a cyclone. Kazu, unsurprisingly, didn't wake up.

He was finally roused by a fireball exploding on his backpack, which he was using as a pillow. As Kazu ran frantically about, trying to extinguish the fire on his head, a black dragon rose up through the smoke and fire, growling at the digidestined.

"You have trespassed on my domain..." the dragon growled as he walked out of the cloud. "...now you shall suffer for what you have done." The dragon bared its knife-like teeth, then roared loud enough to rattle their bones.

The digidestined pulled out their digivices. There was work to do.

**mainframe, sacred spire**

The six digidestined paused as they prepared to go to sleep. They felt a rumble through their feet, and the trees swayed lightly. They wished that Huanglongmon was nearby to tell them what was going on.

Rika sighed, knowing that what ever was going on, they were powerless to help.

As she got into bed, she thought back to a conversation she'd had with Justin earlier.

**flashback: sacred forest**

"Rika..." Justin said, "could I talk with you for a minute?"

Rika looked over at him. She had been staring off into space, thinking about Takato. "What's up?" she asked.

Justin hesitated. "Rika... are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been staring off into space a lot lately, and you've been avoiding the others. Is something wrong?"

Rika heitated, then sighed. "...it's Takato..."

Justin nodded. "Yes, but... we're all concerned about him. I thought you'd be the last person to go to pieces."

Rika smiled slightly. "Well... he and I were really good friends..."

Justin studied her expression for a moment. "You love him, don't you?"

Rika quickly answered "O-of course not!", but was unable to keep from blushing. _Stupid goggle-head..._

Justin nodded his head. "I understand..." he said as he walked off.

**mainframe, sacred spire**

Thinking back on what had happened, Rika still did not know why Justin had asked, or what his last comment meant. She sighed. _Stupid goggle-head... making me blush like that..._

She heard a voice that she couldn't tell if it came from the forest or from inside her head. "Rika... don't call me that..." it whispered.

Rika sat bolt upright, and quickly looked around. Everyone else was asleep, and the forest was quiet and empty. She lay back down. _Stupid goggle-head... making me hear things..._ she shivered, though the night wasn't cold, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

**rika's dream**

Rika found herself back in Shinjuku park, near the shed that the tamers had always hung out at. She looked around to find someone she knew, but the park was deserted. She turned back to the shed, and saw a dark aura emanating from it. It reminded her of Icedevimon, except that this aura was colder. And darker. She shivered, wanting to get away from it, but felt drawn to the shed. As she got closer, she suddenly felt like the evil was not the shed itself, but rather something inside it. She slowly entered, and gasped at what she saw.

Inside were a broken red and gold D-terminal, a piece of a silver, red and gold shield, and a rare Wizardmon card, covered in blood. She shivered, having no idea what they meant.

She turned to leave, but found her path blocked by shadowy figures, all whispering her name. Though they seemed familiar, she found herself backing down the hole Guilmon had made. She heard Takato's voice, trying to tell her something. The shadowy figures boxed her in. Takato was yelling in her ear. The figures were coming closer. Suddenly, she understood what Takato had been trying to tell her. The shadowy figures grabbed her, and began shaking her. She felt her back hit the end of the tunnel, and knew that the portal had closed. She heard the shadows speaking to her, shouting her name...

**mainframe, sacred spire**

"Rika! Rika! Wake up!"

Rika opened her eyes, and saw that Koichi had been shaking her, trying to get her to wake up.

"C'mon!" he said. "Huanglongmon's opened the gate for us. We're just waiting on you."

Rika sat up, turned to face everyone, and said "I know where Takato is."


	10. Life

Life

Shadow- "Another chapter, another day without any reviews..."

Renamon- "Look, would you stop whining about the reviews?"

Shadow- "Okay!"

Renamon- "Well, that was easy... Shadow does not own digimon. This story on the other hand-"

Shadow- "Yeah, I think they guessed that. Oh, and please R&R. It gives meaning to my life!"

* * *

**mainframe, sacred spire**

"I know where Takato is." Rika said.

Everyone stood in shocked silence. Kouji and Zoe looked at each other. _Has she lost it?_ they wondered.

Koichi was kinder in his assessment. "Rika... are you sure you weren't just dreaming?"

Rika shook her head violently. "No! I'm sure..."

"...how, exactly, are you sure?" said Kouji.

Rika started to speak, then realized how stupid she would sound. _I can't tell them that Takato told me in a dream! They'd just laugh at me..._ To the others, she said "...when Huanglongmon said he'd searched the real worlds, the dark worlds and the digital world, something didn't seem right. While I was asleep, I realized what he hadn't searched."

Justin blinked, then whispered "Of course... he didn't check here..."

Rika nodded. "Exactly."

"Hold on a sec," said Zoe, "How did his data get in here? Huanglongmon said he didn't allow anyone in here."

Rika shrugged. "Maybe... maybe he came here with us."

Jeri nodded. "Rika's right! We have to search everywhere!"

Kouji shrugged. "Fine by me. But I'm not asking him to search. You ask him."

Just as they finished talking, Huanglongmon glided in over the treetops, skimming the upper branches. Rika took a deep breath. _Here goes..._

**dark ocean**

As the dark dragon loomed over them, the digidestined pulled out their digivices. The dark lord chuckled at them.

"Really now... do you think you can defeat me, Savadramon, ruler of this world and lord of all darkness? You pathetic human filth..."

"For our friends who have died because of you..."

"For the digimon you have destroyed..."

"For all the pain and suffering you've caused..."

"We will defeat you!"

BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION

"Blastingreymon!"

"Lunargarurumon!"

"Avedramon!"

"Lilamon!"

"Ferrizudomon!"

"Brilliantseraphimon!"

"Luminangewomon!"

"Burningveemon!"

"Serratankylomon!"

"Ariaquilamon!"

"Metastingmon!"

"Megidrarapidmon!"

"Fevouremon!"

"Katashinobimon!"

"Voltedramon!"

"Gallantmon!"

"Megagargomon!"

"Hyperandromon!"

"Aquangemon!"

"Justimon!"

"Violepaecomon!"

"Radisorcerimon!"

"Serracubamon!"

"Flaredramon!"

"Frostmon!"

"Voltamon!"

"Torrentmon!"

"Gravimon!"

"Tremon!"

"Allosmon!"

Savadramon roared with laughter at the sight of the Biomerged digimon. "You must be joking! Pathetic megas stand no chance against my power! Vicious Flame!"

Fire surged from Savadramon's mouth, which the digidestined narrowly avoided. The attack slammed into the ground, melting the solid rock into a roaring pool of lava, and cracking mountains in half. Savadramon grinned evilly. The screaming was about to begin. He couldn't wait.

**mainframe, sacred spire**

Rika paused in her story as another tremor caused the trees to shake.

"We don't have much time." said Huanglongmon. "The digidestined have already begun fighting the dark lord."

"Well, can't you search for Takato while we take Izzy, Trish, and Botta into the spire?" asked Justin.

Huanglongmon sighed. "It's not that easy. I'll need to accompany you in there, and I can not search for anything while inside the spire, for it is heavily shielded."

Koichi sighed. "If we have to wait, we will. Just try and find him quickly."

Huanglongmon nodded. "I'll try." He closed his eyes, and accessed the mainframe's powerful instruments.

**dark ocean**

"Nova Blade!" Blastingreymon's attack smashed into Savadramon's armor, but left no trace. Tai growled. "There's got to be some way to hurt him!"

Henry continued to circle Savadramon. "I don't see anything! There's no cracks, jewles, or anything else that might be a weak point!"

"Then we'll just keep attacking 'till he's dead!" Takuya shouted, firing off another attack.

Savadramon retaliated with another blast of flame, singeing Flaredramon and melting a nearby mountain range.

**mainframe, sacred spire**

"..." Huanglongmon remained silent and motionless, despite the rumbling noise shaking the ground.

Rika was growing impatient. _Why is this taking so long? Was I just imagining things? That could be it... why else would the portal in the shed be gone?_ Rika was about to tell Huanglongmon to forget what she'd said, when Huanglongmon's eyes snapped open.

"I've found him!" he said. "You were right... he was in here the whole time... I'd better step up security around here..."

"Yes!" Rika shouted. "Where is he?"

Huanglongmon smiled. "The computer is routing his data to follow us. We must go inside the spire quickly. There's no time to waste!"

The side of the spire suddenly parted, revealing enormous doors, easily large enough to accommodate Huanglongmon's size. Once they were inside, the doors seamlessly shut behind them. They looked around, and saw a flight of stairs running around the outside of the spire, leading upwards, with a large opening between the sides in the middle. The top was impossible to see.

Huanglongmon smiled at their looks of despair. "Don't worry. I'll fly you to the top. It shouldn't take long."

**dark ocean**

"Damn it!" Matt yelled as another attack bounced off Savadramon's flanks. "Nothing's getting through!"

"What else can we do?" asked Lazar.

"We haven't tried all attacking the same spot at once, have we?" asked Candice.

Everyone looked over at her. Lazar said "Candice! That's great! I could kiss you..."

Candice blushed. "It was only a suggestion..." she muttered.

"Right! Everyone, aim for the neck!" Tai yelled.

"Fire!"

The digidestineds' combined attacks slammed into Savadramon's neck, knocking him backwards onto his back, causing a small earthquake. He roared in pain as his armor cracked.

**mainframe, sacred sanctuary**

Another quake hit the spire, causing it to sway slightly. Inside, Huanglongmon was growing worried. _At this rate, they might destroy the spire while we're still inside it..._ he thought.

Just as it seemed they would never reach the top, a burst of light appeared above them and they shot into a huge open space. Huanglongmon landed in front of a huge altar-like structure. It stood higher than even Huanglongmon, covered in gold and silver, with angels and digimon encompassing the entire platform.

"Your friends will need to stand there." said Huanglongmon, nodding towards the platform.

Elecmon, Motimon, and Efremon climbed onto the platfrom, and stood there, feeling slightly foolish.

"Now," said Huanglongmon, "Wish for them to return to normal. I will bring Takato back along with them."

The digidestined closed their eyes, and wished.

_I wish for my friends to return_

_I wish my friend had his sister back_

_I wish for our friends to return safely_

_I wish I was somewhere else... but I want them to come back, too_

_I wish the damage could be undone_

_I wish for our friends' lives back_

The platform glowed brightly, bathing the three digimon in brilliance. The light blinded the digidestined and their digimon, forcing them to look away. The light slowly coalesced into seven figures.

Their friends were being restored to life.


	11. Death

Death

Shadow- "Hello, again! I'm working on ideas for part four... and it will be posted soon."

Renamon- "Shadow does not own digimon."

Shadow- "Please R&R, people. Get into the habit of doing it! It makes both of us feel happy!"

* * *

**mainframe, sacred sanctuary**

The intense beam of light slowly condensed into the bodies of their four friends and their digimon. After flickering for a moment, the light went out, leaving Trish, Izzy, Botta, and Takato behind. The six digidestined who wished for their return nearly cried with relief.

Their friends were safe again.

**dark ocean**

Savadramon coughed and growled, angry that the digidestineds' attacks had so easily cracked his neck guard. He shook his head, climbed to his feet, and angled his head downward to protect his new weakness. He roared at the digidestined "You insolent little brats! That hurt! I'll kill every one of you for that! Darkness Flare!"

The pure black fire roared through the air, striking Blastingreymon in the chest, slamming him into the ground, and causing him to de-digivolve.

His friends immediately moved to protect Tai and Agumon, and quickly carried him to safety.

"You bastard!" Matt yelled. "You nearly killed him."

Savadramon snorted. "Nearly? Shame. I wanted to kill him, but not delete him, so I could slowly disintegrate him!" His eyes gleamed evilly "Just like I'll do to you! Vicious Flame!"

The digidestined dodged his attack, and fired back one of their own. Their attacks combined into a stream of brilliant light, stabbing through Savadramon's chest, ripping him in half, before deleting him.

The digidestined cheered. Their battle was over.

**mainframe, sacred sanctuary**

For those in the spire, however, things were very different.

The attack that had killed Savadramon had caused another earthquake, and this one had caused some of the lower walls of the spire to collapse inward, trapping everyone inside.

Rika pounded her fist on the wall in frustration. "Damn it!" she shouted. "We're trapped!"

"Not for long..." Huanglongmon growled. "Back away from the wall."

Rika and the others hurried to comply, and Huanglongmon fired off a devastating attack. "Sacred Blaster!"

The wall vaporized. Literally. The attack was powerful enough to smash through the wall and kept on going, impacting on a far wall, leaving an easily visible scar.

Huanglongmon sighed. "Come on... I'll take you down to the surface. I'm sure you have some catching up to do..."

**mainframe, sacred spire**

"...and that's what happened after you were deleted by that dragon." said Kouji.

Trish nodded. "Wow... sounds like you guys had a rough time."

Huanglongmon interrupted them. "Digidestined, it is time for you to leave."

Izzy looked around. "Umm... where's Takato?"

Everyone looked around. Both Takato and Jeri had vanished. Rika sighed. "I'll go get them. I saw Takato leave earlier, and Jeri followed him."

The others nodded, and watched Rika disappear into the forest.

**mainframe, sacred forest**

Takato sighed as he walked further from the group into the forest. He had already known about the earlier things that had happened, and wanted to spend some time alone to think over what had happened.

Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be. Jeri walked up behind Takato, took out her hand puppet, and said in the puppet's voice "Wuff! Whfuf's Wfong. Twfawfato?"

Takato jumped a little bit when Jero stuck the puppet in his ear, but realized who it was. "Jeri... please don't do that..."

Jeri sighed, obviously disappointed. "What's wrong , Takato? You usually laugh at that."

Takato sighed. "I guess... this whole thing, coming back to life, seems really weird. It almost... doesn't seem real..."

Jeri nodded. "I know, Takato. When... when I saw you ... get stabbed..." Jeri sniffed, and Takato turned around, surprised.

"Jeri, wha-"

"When I saw you get stabbed... I just thought... What if I never see him again? What if I never hear his voice again? What..." she gulped, then continued almost in a whisper. "What if I never got to tell you how I feel about you?"

Takato blinked, then blushed. _Did she just say what I thought she just said?_

Jeri looked into Takato's eyes. "I... I love you, Takato."

Takato was speechless. Jeri suddenly fell into Takato's arms, sobbing and murmuring "I thought I'd never see you again..." Takato, though unsure at first, quickly wrapped his arms around Jeri and held her close. "I love you too, Jeri..."

Rika, who had watched the entire thing from nearby, slowly, quietly slunk off, trying hard to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

**mainframe, sacred forest**

Justin sighed, waiting for Rika to bring back Takato and Jeri. He, too, had gone a little ways off to think about what had happened.

He shook his head. _Something isn't right... why were those earthquakes affecting us here if this place only controls the digital world?_ He shook his head again, and sighed. _Maybe Huanglongmon doesn't understand this place as well as he thinks he does... or maybe he's not telling us everything..._

He got no further in his thoughts, as Rika walked slowly into the clearing where he was. Her head was down, and he couldn't see her face.

"Rika, did you find them?" Justin asked.

He was surprised when he heard Rika make an odd noise._ Is... she sobbing?_ he wondered. Before he could ask anything, Rika started speaking in a low voice.

"I... saw them..." she gulped. "They were talking... then Jeri told Takato she loved him, then..." She sat down hard on the ground, putting all her effort into just holding back her tears, putting up her icy shield around her heart.

Justin knelt down next her. He whispered "Rika... are you okay?" When she didn't answer, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Rika..."

She looked into his eyes, and saw that he cared for her, and was very concerned. She felt her icy shield break, and she put her head on his shoulders, and began to cry.

**mainframe, sacred spire**

Kouji sighed, very annoyed. _We've been waiting for ten minutes... how long does it take to find a stupid kid? _he wondered.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone. He turned, and saw Justin, supporting Rika, who was still crying, approaching. "Where have you been?" Kouji asked Rika. "Where are those two?"

When she heard this, Rika buried her face in Justin's shoulder, and sobbed. Justin hesitated for a moment, then realized that Kouji would probably ask again if he didn't saw something.

"I'm... not sure you want to ask her that right now." Justin said.

"Why not?" Kouji asked.

Justin looked and Rika, still crying gently into his shoulder, looked back at Kouji, and shot him a look that said 'do you really need to ask?'

Kouji shook his head, but didn't say anything else.

Rika sniffed, gulped, seemed to realize what she was doing, and took her head off Justin's shoulder. She let go of Justin's arm, and sat down nearby, trying to dry the tears off her face.

Just as she finished, Takato and Jeri walked into camp, arm in arm with each other. Takato asked. "Are we ready to go?"

Justin looked over at Rika, who sighed, got up and nodded to him. "We're ready." Justin said.

**dark ocean**

The digidestined waded out of the water and took a look around. The darkness still oppressively hung about them. Tai was the first to voice what they were all thinking. "How are going to get home?"

"I think we may be of use there." said a voice from the sky.

The digidestined looked up, and saw the four god digimon fly (A/N: or in two cases, fall) out of a portal and regally came near them.

"Azulongmon?" Henry said incredulously "Why are you here?"

Azulongmon smiled. "You saved us from being deleted in the destruction of our world. This is the least we can do."

Henry was about to thank them, when the entire planet seemed to shudder. Though it only lasted a moment, the digidestined were worried. _Is this another evil digimon?_ they wondered.

"Quickly!" said Zhuqiamon. "This world is collapsing! We must move quickly!"

The digidestined, their digimon, and the digital gods hurried back through the portal as the world began to shake again.

**mainframe, sacred spire**

The mainframe shook in sympathy with the dark world, and Huanglongmon swooped down hurriedly. "Quickly, children, get on my back! This world is being cut off!"

"How?" Zoe asked

Huanglongmon seemed embarrassed. "...remember when I said I needed to step up security...?"

Rika groaned. "...don't tell me..."

Huanglongmon nodded. "I'm afraid so. Quickly, though! Your lives depend on it! There's no telling when the doors might open again!"

Everyone climbed onto Huanglongmon's back, and they rode off towards the entrance.

**n. digital world**

The portal opened, spewing the digidestined back into the digital plains. As they got to their feet, Tai again asked the obvious question. "Where are the others?"

**mainframe, main hallway**

The golden dragon dropped off the digidestined at the entrance of the hall where they had started, saying "This hallway is too tight for me to fly through, and I run very slowly. You must travel the rest of the way your self.

The digidestined ran down the hallway. Though they ran hard, it was obvious that it wouldn't be enough.

"We need to DNA Biomerge!" yelled Justin. Everyone except Takato and Botta took out their digivices.

BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION

"Electrokabuterimon!"

"Voltedramon!"

"Sepctraseraphimon!"

"Sakuyamon!"

"Hurricamon!"

"Bladeleomon!"

"Shinimon!"

"Twilimon!"

DNA BIOMERGE DIGIVOLUTION

"Electrokabuterimon... Voltedramon... DNA Biomerge to... Hercuvoltamon!"

"Sepctraseraphimon... Sakuyamon... DNA Biomerge to... Eternalseraphimon!"

"Hurricamon... Bladeleomon... DNA Biomerge to... Areoleodramon!"

"Shinimon... Twilimon... DNA Biomerge to... Hypolighmon!"

Areoleodramon picked up Takato, Hypolighmon pick up Guilmon, Hercuvoltamon picked up Botta, and they all flew off towards they closing tunnel-like entrance, which was slowly closing.

As they reached the door, there was barely any room to spare, and Eternalseraphimon stopped, and braced the doors with his hands. The others turned around.

"Come on, you two!" yelled Zoe "Let's go!"

"You wouldn't make it!" shouted Justin, "We'll hold the door open so you can escape!"

"But..."

"GO!" Justin yelled. "I'm not sure how long we can hold the door!"

With a final backward glance, the others flew off towards the opening. After about twenty seconds, Justin turned to Rika.

"Rika, if we de-digivolve, I can still hold the door open so you can get out."

Rika stared at him incredulously. "And what would happen to you?"

Justin hesitated. "I... might be able to escape back-"

Rika cut him off. "You know that's not true. I'm not leaving, and that's final!"

Justin sighed, muttered something about stubborn people, and looked away.

After a moment, Rika chuckled. Justin looked back. "What's so funny?"

She smiled. "Isn't it ironic how we don't realize our feelings until it's too late?"

Justin shrugged. "I guess..."

"Just like I realized I loved Takato too late, I'm realizing that... I ... love you..."

Jutsin blushed. "Wh-what?"

Rika blushed as well, and moved closer to Justin. "I... love you, Justin..."

The two hugged each other, then kissed for the first time as the walls slowly, inexorably, closed in on them.

**n. digital world**

The eight digidestined sprawled out onto the grass, much to the surprise of the other digidestined who were already standing there. After untangling the pile, the others noticed two of them were missing. For the third time that day, Tai asked the obvious question "Where are Justin and Rika?"

The others hesitated for a moment, then Koichi said "They... gave up their lives... so we could get out safely..."

Everyone's mood, which had been happy because of Savadramon's defeat, suddenly drooped, as they remembered their comrades, and made silent promises never to forget them, as the sun slowly climbed over the horizon.


End file.
